Mystery Networks by Christine Duncan

I love social networking for its ease. In a lot of cases for me, it takes the place of several in-person writer's groups that I used to belong to. I think all writers should belong to at least a few social networks just for the exchange of info that goes on there.

Naturally I have a few favorites in mind that I want to tell you about. But none of this is set in stone. What works for me may not be good for you and then there is the odd fact that these things tend to change faster than your first grader's smile once those teeth start falling out.

And I'm not just talking about what network is currently in fashion. Have you ever noticed that just when you get used to a social network site they change it? Recent changes to Facebook come to mind. it seems to make it easier to play games or use apps. Nevermind the thousands of us in the I don't care about your farm or mafia family group. It made it harder for me, on dialup, to see and interact with the different groups I have set up there. Still I like Facebook; it lets me interact with writing friends across the country.

I like crimespace too. The on-going dialogue there assumes we are all writers and mystery writers at that--so it's not a place for Bsp. You'll see some of that of course, but it is more of a writer's community. I like it for some of the same reasons I used to love Dorothy l. I tend to lurk on Dot L now, catching up on digests way too late to participate much. I don't know why. I still love it for getting suggestions on books to read, but tend to prefer that some of those suggestions would come from folks other than the author of the books.

I'm on Twitter and I like it but it feels a little bit like being in the crowd in Target right before Christmas. You are there with a bunch of other people and you might recognize some but you probably will not catch your best friend or sit for a long chat. Plus after having my account taken over early last year probably because of responding to a "bad" direct message, I'm a little leery there now.

The last group I love is Jeff Mark's murder must advertise. You can sign up on yahoo too if you like. I skim the list many days but I tend to keep it because of the ability to brainstorm with a bunch of other authors on something that we're all up against--promotion.

None of these groups is new anymore. These are just my keepers. Places where I can go and be a writer. What about you? Where do you network and why?

Promotion

There's been a lot of talk about promotion -- and it's key to keeping your name out there. But how do you find the readers? Are you just promoting to other writers, who are also promoting?

There are tons of social networks now -- MySpace, Facebook, GoodReads, Shelfari, Twitter and many blogs. How do I get readers to check me out on MY blog, MY page on the social networks? Do I buy ads in traditional magazines, on websites, put up banners on sites and networks? Do I attend conventions?

I think each author has to sit down and think about what areas work for him or her. Most publishers have a presence on the major social networks, have an area for their authors to run blogs, send books and promo to conventions, buy ads, etc.

In a recession, we all have to think about the dollars we allot to our promotion, but another very important resource is to allocate our time properly. Can you be on every social network, update your page(s), write blogs, design ads, banners and plan for a trip across country to a convention?

I think it's essential for authors to participate in blogs like Make Mine Mystery because we support one another, have a variety of blog topics that will bring readers to the site and maybe discover another writer than the one they dropped in to read!

I also think you must think about your budgets -- of money and time. You can't burn out either! If you spend all your money on ads, do you have the funds to go to the convention you really want to attend? If you spend all your time updating social network pages, when do you write?

READERS: How do you find writers? Do you go to social networks, troll thru blogosphers, read ads, attend conventions? Or do you have a different strategy?

AUTHORS: How do you find readers? Same as the readers find writers, or something different?

Let's connect and still have money to buy books, time to write books, and time to enjoy life!